"I know lots of people who had a 4.0 who, if you dropped them off in the woods, would have just died." -- It's software development, not the army. "OTOH, I kno

"I know lots of people who had a 4.0 who, if you dropped them off in the woods, would have just died." -- It's software development, not the army. "OTOH, I know lots of others who were brilliant but too bored to care about grades." -- Hence the whole second paragraph: "Of course, that's not the only way to demonstrate your intelligence. I know many incredibly smart people who just didn't do well in school. Maybe it just wasn't their thing, or they were working two jobs and didn't have time, or they dropped out to start their own company. If that's you, then you'll have to show me how bright you are. Do you solve really hard problems on a regular basis at work? Tell me about it. Did you apply to MENSA for the fun of it and get in? Impressive. Hold the record for creating the Sunday crossword puzzle with the fewest black squares? Awesome. Exceptional standardized test scores will even do in a pinch (though that might not be as widely accepted)." We're just screening applications, not making hiring decisions on the spot. If someone has great grades (and four other positive indicators) but are truly not that smart, we'll find out pretty quickly in the interviews. For people who are really bright but didn't have the grades, the burden is on them to show us how bright they are. If they don't, but pass on the other criteria, then they'll move on to the next stage. It's anything but a litmus test.